Thursday, December 10, 2009

“Medi-Vac Helicopter Crashes in Northern California Killing Three” by Todd Slaughter tells of a air ambulance helicopter that crashed killing the entire crew, as these helicopters may be dangerous they are an essential part of many medical emergency and save many lives every day. It is very unfortunate that this crew died in a crash but they knew the dangers of their chosen profession. If we learn anything from this crash it is to thank those who serve in air ambulances. In Colorado there are two main Helicopter Emergency Medical Serves (HEMS) and both have amazing safety records. AirLIfe Denver and Flight for Life Colorado both operate in Colorado and fly through the very deadly and unforgiving rocky mountains. Between the two companies and over 62 years (Flight for Life being the oldest medi-vac helicopter service) of service there has only been one crash. Over the years these two organizations have saved thousands of lives. When taking these considerations in Air Ambulances are an amazing tool and a life saving machine.

“In an instant, these people became everyday heroes” from CNN tells of various people who acted quickly and intelligently to save stranger’s lives, the people in need of help wouldn’t of survived unless these people acted in the brave manner they did. One of the examples in this article is about an off duty Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who dove into a freezing pond to save a woman who drove her van into the pond. Many people think that the fire department is the only source of heroism, but sometimes it is just the average stranger that will save somebody in their “hour of need.” Most of these people do not wish to be called heroes because they feel that anybody would have done what they did. It is a good feeling thinking that anybody would risk their life to save another’s but it is not necessarily true. The people who do run into a fire when everybody else is running out are special people that should be recognized as heroes.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

“Boy 'Clinging to Life' After Two-Day Search” by CBC news tells of a seven year old autistic child who went missing for a night, this is important because this sort of emergency shouldn't ever happen. The boy apparently followed his dog 1.3 miles away from his home where he became lost the woods. Autism a defect that slows people’s thinking. This boy was not ready to spend a night out sleeping on top of snow. Luckily, Hailfax Regional Search and Rescue found the boy and called in EHS LifeFlight to medivac the child to a hospital. Paramedics report that the child was severely hypothermic and they were lucky to find the child in the time they did. However this search mission was totally avoidable. In Colorado there is a program called Colorado Life Track (COLT) program where patients with autism or Alzheimer's wear wrist bands that send out a radio tracking signal that can be traced by SAR teams. COLT is used by various teams such as Arapahoe Rescue Patrol and Summit County Sheriff’s Office. The average time between a COLT call and a rescue is only 30 minuets instead of the 24 hours that this boy had to survive.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

“Counting Blessings” from the Today show tells a story of a man who was trapped for six days and was forced to cut off his own arm to survive, this shows how people can come to great lengths to survive. The man was climbing a canyon when his arm was trapped by a massive bolder. The climber admits to having a vision of a child that he assumed was his. The man also says that this image of a child was what got him through the tough actions he had to do. This is not the only story where people have had images or internal motivations that give them the will to survive. There will always be incredible stories of survival.

“Airmen aid in search for stranded hiker” by the U.S. Air Force official website shows how the U.S.A.F is not just a branch of the military but also an organization to help people, especially in Search and Rescue operations. The man was hiking in a remote area in Arizona, when he became lost. Just before his phone ran out of batteries the hiker made a 911 phone call. The call cut out and was not able to be traced by the 911 operators. When the 911 operators were not able to trace the phone call the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) was called to trace the phone call. The professional airmen were able to track the phone call down to a 1square mile area. The AFRCC was able to call a police helicopter to search the small area for the hiker. The helicopter found the man very quickly since they had such a small area to search. The main point of the article is that the Air Force helps people as well as defending American Freedoms.

Monday, December 7, 2009

The Article “Hospital Refused to Assist Heart Attack Victim in Parking Lot” by the Canadian Press tells of a situation where a man had an angina in the hospital’s parking lot and the hospital made him call 911 instead of just helping him themselves, this in some cases can be a life or death situation. The 80 year old man had a very life threatening condition, but the hospital refused to help him instead his wife was forced to call an ambulance from across the street to remove the man from his car and carry him only 30 yards inside. This may sound ridiculous to some but there is some reasoning behind nurses and doctors not being able to leave the hospital to help somebody. Removing a patient from a vehicle can be a dangerous task, which sometimes results in even more injuries for the patient, the paramedics and EMT’s were called simply because they had skills and training at removing a patient form cars. This case however is a little different, the man was having a cardiac problem (later discovered as an Angina) a serious illness but not necessarily always life threatening. Most hospitals do employ EMT’s to help out with problems similar to this but it seems that this hospital did not have any such professionals. In conclusion it can be life threatening for patients to be so close to hospitals yet not in reach, that is why hospital EMT’s are so important.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

In the article “Deep Survival with Laurence Gonzales$earch + Rescue: Should Victims Pay,” by Adventure Travel tells of how it is a rising problem that some Search and Rescue (SAR) Teams are starting to charge for their services, this creates problems for both the SAR personnel and the victims. Many SAR teams are starting to charge for searches. Many of the victims that Search and Rescue teams help do not have the money to pay for a $25,000+ mission. Infact some lost hikers try to avoid these teams when they know they are being searched for. Search and Rescue missions are complicated and hard enough to conduct when the victim wants to be found, but when they start avoiding the rescue personnel they become impossible. In Colorado it is a written agreement between the state and The Colorado Search and Rescue Board (CSARB) that no SAR team will ever charge any victim. Most American and all Colorado SAR teams are solely based on volunteers and either get small amounts of money from their county or work very hard for donations. In conclusion it is not an option to charge for Search and Rescue operations because it makes everything harder for SAR personnel and the victims, plus it is not fair for the victim.